


Killjoy Shorts

by Lemonayde



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album)
Genre: Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Multi, Past Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-03-20 15:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18995332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemonayde/pseuds/Lemonayde
Summary: A collection of small writings about the killjoys- most are not shippy, but if there is one I will add the tag and put it in the notes.





	1. Big Brother

Party couldn't help but wonder, as he watched his brother slowly and deliberately clean up a new cut, if he was a good big brother. 

It was hard, feeling responsible for someone out in the zones. It was why true relationships were rare- hy family's other than a crew almost non-existent. The chance of your loved ones being ghosted or worse a constant looming threat...and he had thrown his baby brother headfirst in. He grimaced every time his mind brought up the thought.

Party wasn't sure when the change had started, or finished, but looking at Kobra now...Party didn't see the timid little brother he had came here with. He saw someone just as quiet, but confident. Someone more relaxed, who wasn't afraid of the dangers around him. Someone who was acclimitated to the smell and sight of death.

Watching as he smiled at Ghoul, waving his bloody hand that had been covering a bleeding wound moments before like it was nothing, watching him laugh as Ghoul said something in return, Party felt worried. 

Had he ruined his little brother? Turned him into someone so accustomed to such a horrid life that he would turn to rough paths easily?

He wondered if any innocence in him was left preserved, or if every bit of it died the second his feet hit the desert sand and started running.

Just as he was about to convince himself that he was honestly the worst big brother in the history of the world, he saw it.

The girl, running to Kobra as fast as she could, her entire face lit up in a smile. Kobra quickly wiped the blood of his hands, catching the girl just in time to wrap her in a hug, laughing when he released her and she bounced up and down. He watched Kobra take off his sunglasses, put them on her, and beam.

Party couldn't help but smile.

Y'know what? Kobra had turned out just fine.

Maybe did too.


	2. Lost and found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra Kid/Sandman

Kobra had never been scared of death. 

When you live in the middle of it, you forget to really worry about it. Sure, you're sad when it happens, but Kobra? He had everyone he needed. He had his brother, he has Ghoul, he had Jet, he had Sandman, he had...the girl.

Until recently. 

When the girl was taken, death suddenly became scary again. 

Every fight became a looming fear of dying without being successful, every mission holding the possibility of failing one of the few people he loved.

Which is why, realistically, he shouldn't be doing this. 

He should be sticking close to the other three, the ones he had left, as they got ready to walk right into certain death. He should be taking this fear as reason to be more cautious. Yet he found himself waiting where he had been told, found himself smiling when the familiar beaten up truck rolled up, window rolled down blasting some of Kobra's favorite music. Sandman's signature fucking grin always seemed to have that same dumb affect on him. 

"We shouldn't be doing this."

His smile didn't falter.

"I know."

That was all it took for Kobra to get into the car, get lost in the music, let the sound of his favorite record blast his eardrums and remedy his fear like no alcohol could. He let Sandman's lips distract him from the clawing panic at the back of his mind, let the touch of his hands and whisper of his voice reassure him that there was still a chance in this world, that they'd both make it through the end of this alive.

The music was still in his ears when he left the next morning, the ghost of his touch still tingling at his lips.

He was ready to die.


	3. Sacrifice

Sacrifice is something made often in the zones. For some 'joys, it's their dignity. Other's, their sanity. For most? Their lives.

Jet's sacrifice was somewhat a mix of all three, in his mind.

It's almost maddening, looking into the shattered glass and seeing yourself looking back at you...but it's not you. This stranger was not the Jet that he had once known. This Jet is haunting, even more ragged and angry looking than he had ever seen before. This Jet's hands shake as he moves his hand up slowly to move a stray strand of curled hair from his face. This Jet is tired, emotionless almost as he looked into the reflection and saw what exactly he feared to see. 

Most importantly...this Jet was wearing an eye patch, which normally he would laugh at, claiming it made him look like the 'bad guys' they would kill everyday.

He wasn't laughing, though. 

He backed away from the shattered glass, trying to regain composure. He was shaking when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Jet?" The voice, one Jet was so used to hearing energetic and happy, sounded much how Jet looked, broke him from his thoughts as Ghoul's concerned face forced itself into focus. "You okay?"

Jet let in a shaky breath, producing a smile on his face. He nodded, like he should do, like losing a part of him didn't matter. "I'm fine."

And truth be told? He was. He was fine because sometimes...sacrifices have to be made, and Jet is damn sure he didn't make it in vain. Not with these guys on his side.


	4. Not Okay

"Party, look at me. Count. One, two, three...there we go. Big breaths."

Ghoul's hand, gentle on Party's chest, rises and falls with every shaky intake of breath as he shudders out his fear. Not once does Ghoul's hazel eyes stray from his, desperately searching for something- anything- to bring him back down to earth.

Ghoul moves his free hand to grab one of Party’s, pulling it gently from where he had been relentlessly tugging his hair. Now, it rests in his, intertwined, no longer causing Party any harm.

Each breath Ghoul takes is copied by Party, each move he makes being watched. Slowly but surely, Party's tense body begins to uncurl enough for the smaller man to pull him to him. Burying his head in Ghoul’s chest, another sob escapes him despite his better judgement. 

Some days you just aren't able to carry the stress of being a part of the killjoy life without bending to the world's will or breaking the wall so many build up to keep the tears from falling and wasting precious resources and time. 

Some days you simply can't make yourself be strong. 

“It's okay, it'll all be okay.” Ghoul repeats this phrase, the holy scripture of the zones, over and over. Though he knows that they are empty, meaningless reassurance, Party makes himself believe them. Just like everyone else does.

After all, this is the zones.

Nothing is ever okay.


	5. Breaking Walls

He had been crying again. Ghoul can tell. He always can. 

Try as Kobra might, no one can put up a wall forever, and leave it to Ghoul to find the crack’s in everyone else’s. The places you can apply pressure to until you feel them begin to crumble and break, so you can see the war of emotions in the city beyond it.

Ghoul watched Kobra begin to pace from the place he sat against the wall. He listened to the thud of boots against dirty tile grow louder and louder until it was the only sound heard in the room, the silence they once spoke of enjoying consumed by the beast that was Kobra’s anxiety or whatever the hell was bothering him. Ghoul cleared his throat.

"Think and louder and you might just manage to sound like me when I get a few drinks in.”

It’s a simple comment. Poking fun, something Ghoul always did, yet different in a way. Kobra came to a halt, whirling to look at Ghoul so fast he nearly stumbled. His lips were a tight line, as if his mind was taking a moment to process through Ghoul’s words.

“What makes you say that?” Kobra’s voice has an edge to it, the kind that should give off a warning. Ghoul never did listen to warnings anyway.

“You were reaching the point where your walking sounded like a raygun in a firefight.” Ghoul said, all too brightly. “You need to calm the fuck down, kid.” He patted the grimy, yet empty, space on the floor beside him. “Sit.”

Kobra stood for a moment, his face blank yet his body tense. A look into whatever was racing on in the brain behind the bubble Kobra seemed to keep himself in. He gave in, though, and moved to where Ghoul had motioned to, sighing as his legs finally got a rest. Ghoul smiled at him, knowing it wouldn’t be returned.

“See? Much better.” After a reluctant pause, Kobra nodded his agreement, much to Ghoul’s satisfaction. He was getting somewhere, and he took it that he was allowed to continue speaking. “So, what’s got the stick up your ass, huh?”

Kobra laughed bitterly. “What doesn’t?” He shifted so his head was leant against the filthy wall, looking up at the ceiling. Ghoul could see a glimmer of tears yet shed for just a moment beyond his sunglasses before his head tilted in a way that blocked his eyes once more. 

They sat in an uncomfortable silence, Ghoul trying to find a joke to counter that with but coming up dry. Luckily he didn’t have to be the next one to speak, as Kobra did once more. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

Ghoul raised a brow, leaning sideways against the wall as he turned to look directly at Kobra. “Me? I’m not doing anything other than holding a conversation with my,” he paused to grin, “bestie.”

Kobra scoffed, and Ghoul didn’t have to see his eyes to know he rolled his eyes. He brought his knees to his chest, bringing them into a tight embrace. “Come on, Ghoul. We’ve done this routine a million times before.”

Ghoul shrugged, running a hand through his own greasy hair. “Then cut to the chase, Kobra. Spill.”

Kobra hesitated at the bluntness in Ghoul’s words, but ultimately found the guts to speak again. “We’re bad people, Ghoul.” He sighed, reaching up and pulling the sunglasses from his face and looking down to inspect them. Ghoul could see there was a droplet of water on it, and noticed there was a clean trail down Kobra’s dirt covered face. Kobra used it to clean the glasses with his shirt as he continued. “I guess it just hits harder than usual sometimes.”

Ghoul stared at him, at a loss for words. It wasn't as though he didn’t understand what Kobra was saying. He had that same thought on a regular basis, actually, usually after the adrenaline from a firefight drained from his bones. But it was different to hear him say it. 

He wanted to dispute it, tell Kobra he did nothing wrong, but it wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t what Kobra needed to hear.

“Yeah.” Ghoul settled on saying, surprising Kobra, causing him to turn his head to look at him. “You’re right.” He let there be a pause between his sentences, feeling Kobra’s stare burn into him. “But we... we aren’t the worst. At least I don’t think we are. We’re fighting for what we believe in, and …yeah, we do some bad things.” He looked away. “Really bad things. But at least we know they’re a bad. That’s was separates a bad person from a horrible person, and really, I’m not sure if there’s many good people left out here.”

Kobra nodded his head, slumping back against the wall before returning his glasses to his face. He let the silence linger comfortably for a while before breaking it with a question. “Do you ever regret it?”

“Regret what?” Ghoul asked.

“Getting out. Going to the zones. Doing…all this.” Kobra motioned around him, and he didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Ghoul was shaking his head.

“No. I’d rather be a bad person than whatever the hell staying there made me." He bit his bottom lip, chapped and tasting of blood. "Do you?”

Kobra was quiet for a moment before a sigh left his lips along with his response. “No. I don’t. I don’t think I could have lived with anything else.” A small smile lifted his lips. “Or with anyone else.”

Ghoul laughed, reaching over and pushing his shoulder lightly. He barely moved him but he still got his point across. “Getting sappy now, are we?”

Kobra just chuckled at that, letting the muted sounds of the desert to take over. When he spoke again, his voice was faint, barely more than a whisper. “Thank you, Ghoul.”

Ghoul didn't need to respond. Instead he just scooted closer, slinging an arm around Kobra's shoulders and bringing him to his side. Kobra sighed in contentment, head tilting to rest against Ghoul, and let his mind go blank. There was no need to rebuild a wall.

Ghoul had broken through. And it was going to stay that way.


	6. Time

Time in the zones is basically non-existent; days and nights pass in the blink of an eye and what used to be called years seem to go even faster.

Who needs a calendar when every second of life is another miracle?

Out here, no one ever really keeps track of dates. If for some reason someone wants to, there are no numbers to follow. The only way to know how long it's been is by the rise and fall of the desert sun, and there were really no set numbers that indicated an 'anniversary'.

If someone wanted to remember the date of something in the fab four, they would write it on the one of walls of the diner- for each cycle of the sun, a tally would be written underneath it.

It was rare for the count to be tallied up to a hundred, but if it was important enough to one that they remembered, it was almost certainly celebrated.

Whether it was a great firefight or the reunion with someone loved and almost lost, almost everything on the wall was positive. Anyone actually watching someone put a tally on the wall was almost certain to catch a smile.

Until recently.

The four had all been waiting for the sun to hit the beginning of the desert sky, waiting for the pass of another day, yet no one smiled when as Party dragged another tally down.

No one celebrated the hundredth day under "We Lost Her."


	7. Not Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for drug use mention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for drug use mention

It had been approximately 2 weeks since the Venom Bros had last spoken to eachother. Fun Ghoul knew that for sure. Which was strange, really, he'd be the first to admit. No one out here counts weeks, days, or hell, even hours. Yet it's hard not to be keeping track when you had lost 14 VALUABLE NIGHTS OF REST due to their fucking pathetic excuses of moping. 

That's why on the dawning of what was sure to be the 15th night of no sleep if he did not do *something* about Kobra's pacing footsteps against the tile floor, Ghoul decided that that was going to change. Whether the two wanted to talk to each other or not.

Yanking the shoelaces of his combat boots tight, Ghoul pushed off from the dirty mattress he had been sitting on. At the sound of his feet against the tile Kobra's head snapped towards him, mouth twitching, a silent question of what he was doing expressed from the crossing of his arms. Ghoul didn't need to see his eyes to know he was glaring.

"Come on. We're going for a walk." Ghoul said, voice gruff with irritability that clearly rubbed Kobra the wrong way from the way his lips turned down and his hand twitched and then clenched into a fist.

"Why the hell would we do that? It's the middle of the fuckin' night." He said, voice eerily calm compared to the body language he was giving off, causing Ghoul to roll his eyes. He grabbed both his and Kobra's raygun off of the counter, haphazardly shoving his into it's holster while tossing the other one towards him. He caught it, even though it wasn't quite the perfect throw.

"Because I fucking said we were." He said, opening the door and fixating Kobra with a glare when he opened his mouth to argue. "And before you start complainin', remember the fact that I have stereo control for the trans am this week and we're going out tomorrow. Unless you want radio silence the whole ride, I suggest you listen to what I say."

The two stared down for a moment before Kobra let out a loud sigh, walking out the door he was holding open for him with a low grumble under his breath. Ghoul didn't even want to ask to know what he said.

"Where are we going, anyway?" He complained after Ghoul started to walk off in a random direction.

"Nowhere. Anywhere. I just needed to get you moving else you would've just shut me out and not listened. And before you start arguing spare me the bullshit- we're crewmates. I know you." Ghoul looked over just in time to see his mouth snap shut, and he couldn't help the cocky smirk that came with the sight. 

They walked in silence charged with tension, both of them waiting to see who would bite the bait and bring up what was happening first. Surprisingly, it was Kobra. 

"I'm not going to talk to him, you know. So if that's what this is about we can just go back home." 

"What are you two even fighting over anyway?" Ghoul asked eventually when he finally can find some words, trying to scan Kobra's face for emotion using the dim light of the desert stars. He was met with a slight smile, and eyes hidden behind sunglasses- the norm for Kobra. He knew there was so much more going on in that brain of his, though.

"...He called me a ritalin rat." Kobra said, voice so quiet that Ghoul almost didn't catch it- and even though he did, he wasn't sure he could have possibly heard the other 'joy right. 

"He what?" He asked, voice hesitant as he slowed to a stop with Kobra beside him.

"He said that if I kept going down this path I was going to end up nothing more a ritalin rat in the gutter." Kobra repeated, and for a moment Ghoul would've swore he heard his voice waver slightly with tears. "He said if he wanted me like this he would've just left me in the city, and I just..." He brought one of his gloved hands to wipe at his nose with a sniffle, confirming Ghoul's suspicion that he had started crying. He took off the sunglasses afterwards to be able to look at Ghoul, voice coming out quiet- a different kind of quiet. A quiet that sounded resigned, defeated; something that broke Ghoul's heart the moment it left his lips.

"What if he's right?"

"Kobra..." Ghoul let out a sigh, shaking his head. This was...a lot more complicated than the brothers fights usually were. Normally, their spats were petty. Full of fire but flickering out just as fast as they ignited. This one, though, was one long in the making- one both Jet and him have been dreading since they had all taken note of Kobra's increasing habits and decreasing stability. It was inevitable, even with both Jet and Dr.D trying to keep Party cool until they could bring it up safely.

They could only keep that powderkeg from going off for so long. And so now here was Ghoul, having to clean up the mess the explosion had made. The one person who was definitely not equipped at helping others with problems that involve emotions.

"Do you want the truth or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?" He asked when he couldn't think of any comforting words to say- they wouldn't have been sincere if he tried. Ghoul was blunt, wouldn't dance around the topics that others shy away from- Kobra knows this. And Ghoul knows that he knows this. So they might as well get this over with.

Another sniffle followed his words. "I think I'm going to hear the truth either way."

"Yeah, you're right. You are." Ghoul said, taking a deep breath. Might as well rip off the bandaid. "Party is right. If you aren't careful, you are going to crash harder than any crash queen has before, and it isn't going to be pretty." Kobra flinched, but didn't say anything, so Ghoul continued. "You're going down a bad path, Kid. You know it, Party knows it; hell, at this point I'm pretty sure everyone from here to Zone 3 knows it. And as your friend, it is fucking terrifying to see."

"I'm not taking anything hard." Kobra said after a moment of visible mental conflict, but even as he did Ghoul could tell he knew that that argument was weak.

"Yeah, and next week crystal clean water is going to fall from the sky. Kobra, we found you passed out in a building two zones from where we were camping." Ghoul couldn't help but accidentally raise his voice in exasperation, forcing it back down and taking a deep breath to calm himself when he saw that Kobra taken a nervous step back. "You've gotta know that's not normal."

An uneasy silence hung in the air after those last words, and even though he could see the flash of hurt cross Kobra's face, Ghoul didn't regret saying them. When it became clear Kobra wasn't going to say anything more, signaled by him putting his sunglasses on once more, Ghoul spoke up again.

"We're worried about you, Kobra. All of us. We really do just want to help."

Cautiously, he took a step forward, as if approaching a wounded animal who might flee at any moment. From the tension in Kobra's stance, Ghoul wouldn't be surprised if that was exactly what he was considering doing. 

Kobra took a step back. 

"I...I don't need help. I'm not...You guys shouldn't..." 

Another stumbling step backwards, and Ghoul had to rush forward to try and catch him as he slipped on the desert sand. He didn't make it in time, instead crouching beside him where he fell. He laid a gentle hand on his shoulder as he began to shake, urging him to turn his attention towards him.

When he finally did, Ghoul forced a grin, ignoring how a tear of his own had fought through go slip down his cheek. "You are one stubborn motherfucker, Kobra Kid."

Kobra let out a laugh that turned into a broken sob half way through, tilting his head down to hide his face, causing his sunglasses to slip into his lap. 

They sat like that for a moment, close, but not too close. It wasn't until Kobra's sobs had turned silent once more and Ghoul's own tears had dried that Kobra looked up. Ghoul moved his hand away in favor of getting back up and offering it to help him, which Kobra gratefully accepted. 

Once they were both standing, Kobra picked up his glasses and put them onto his face, another signal that the moment was over. Ghoul left him his space, waiting patiently for him to speak. When he finally did, his voice sounded stronger. Normal. "We should get back before anyone gets worried about us."

"Yeah, I suppose so. Though just promise me one thing." Ghoul gave him a genuine grin when he looked over this time. "Talk to Party, will ya? He really does care about you, even if he has a shitty way of expressing his concerns."

After a moment of careful consideration, Kobra nodded. "I'll try. And, uh, Ghoul?"

"Yeah, Kid?"

Kobra returned his smile for the first time in the past two weeks, albeit rather small. "Thank you. For helping me through this."

Ghoul bumped him lightly with his shoulder during passing, starting to head back in the direction of home. "Of course. It's the least I could do to get the two of you to quit moping around - I swear, if I had to sit through Party's angry monologuing one more time I was seriously going to ghost myself on the spot."

The sound of their laughter filled the air as they walked, comfortable and content- as happy as it gets out here in the zones.


End file.
